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Saturday, February 21, 2015

How to Make the Perfect Bacon in the Oven



The first time I heard of such a thing was from my best friend (got to love her). There have been a number of times we needed to cook up a bunch of batches for football going crowds or large gatherings and she would always go back to this idea of baking the bacon. Originally I was a little skeptical. Would it be as crispy? Would it taste as good? I mean who doesn’t love a little oil splatter in their face and to pull up their sleeves to the idea of a dirty pan waiting for them at the other end of a package of bacon? Really, after trying it, the idea of baking bacon is genius. So let me explain.  

Cooking bacon in a pan:
Monitoring
Clean up
Cooking a couple pieces at a time
Oil spattering

Baking bacon:
Easy
No flipping or monitoring involved
Ease of cooking an entire batch at once
Clean-up equals throwing away foil or parchment paper
No oil spatter

Getting the idea yet? I think I’m biased.

How to Make the Perfect Bacon in the Oven
1-2 pounds of Bacon (I recommend Trader Joe's Uncured Black Forest Bacon)
Aluminum Foil or Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place one layer of aluminum foil or parchment paper (whichever you have) on your baking sheet. NOTE: Do NOT skip this step or your clean-up afterwards will not be fun.

Lay your bacon strips on the parchment paper or foil in a single layer. It is okay if they are close together but do not overlap them. If you are using 2 pounds of bacon you may need a second baking sheet.


Place your filled baking sheet(s) in the oven (towards the bottom of the oven) for 15-20 minutes. Start to check on the bacon at about 12 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your bacon. 

When you feel your bacon is ready, remove it from the oven and use tongs to transfer it to a paper-lined plate to drain and finish cooking. Clean up? Fold up your foil or parchment paper and throw away! No sweat.


Doesn't that just look delicious? Have you ever baked bacon? Let me know if you have any tips! 


Looks like somebody wants the table scraps :)

2 comments:

  1. WHAT IF I DONT LIKE MY BACON CRISPY MARY? Then what?

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  2. Christina this is a great question!

    For less crispy bacon: Don't preheat your oven! Place your baking sheet in the center rack of a cold oven and turn oven to 400 degrees. Close the door and don't open again until you start to check on them at about 12 minutes. Take the baking pan out when they are to your desired crispness (or lack there of).

    For crispier bacon: For even crispier bacon, set a metal cooling rack over the foil-lined baking sheet and lay your uncooked bacon over the cooling rack. Doing it this way allows the bacon to cook from all sides and become extra-crispy.

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